Communities grapple with rising numbers
of day laborers

Activists on both sides of the immigration debate are
organizing around the growing use of immigrant day laborers in
the construction industry. While the federal government
considers building walls at the Mexican border and issuing
guest-worker permits, local governments are tackling the issue
hands-on, some by banning curbside solicitation and others by
establishing day-labor centers and hiring halls. Proponents of
the latter approach say that setting up a formal space for day
laborers can help regulate public safety, documentation, and
education. Opponents argue that the centers legitimize illegal
hiring practices.

Migrant labor has become an increasingly widespread and
integral part of the U.S. economy. Foreign-born workers now
number more than 21 million nationwide, reports the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics, and Jeffrey S. Passel of the Pew Hispanic
Center estimates some seven million, or one-third, of these
workers are undocumented. Passel also notes that 15 years ago,
most undocumented residents lived in just six states
(California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, and New
Jersey). However, as the undocumented population has grown
— by an average of almost a half-million persons a year
since 1990 — the distribution has also changed, with some
40 percent (up from 10 percent) now living in states other than
those six.

Considering the controversy they generate, day laborers
constitute a surprisingly small minority of total undocumented
workers in the U.S. In 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
pegged their number at only 260,000, though Abel Valenzuela
Jr., professor of urban planning at the University of
California, believes that when current calculations are
completed, the number will be much higher.

Many of these workers congregate in the parking lots of
building-supply stores like Home Depot or in other areas where
contractors can easily pick them up and bring them to a job
site. But store customers often object to the presence of the
laborers, who may end up moving several times throughout the
day to different locations.

Police in East Hampton Village, N.Y., for instance, say they
received numerous neighborhood complaints last year about day
laborers gathering on the street, though the men weren't
breaking any local laws. In response, the department
implemented a plan in November aimed at discouraging
contractors from hiring undocumented workers. Police
photographed the license plates of vehicles used to pick up day
laborers and sent the pictures to the IRS, the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement Agency, and the N.Y. State Department of
Labor.

According to police chief Gerald Larsen, the policy "worked
great. There are no more day laborers up there. I've had two
negative responses, but dozens of people have thanked
me."

Other communities — such as Duluth, Ga. — that have
struggled with similar issues have come up with a different
solution: hiring halls. Duluth's Hispanic Community Support
Center has served an average of 50 day laborers per day since
its inception in 2000. The primary function of the center is
"helping people adjust to the community, get jobs, and be
self-sufficient," says director Maria Garcia.

As a condition of using the center's services, both contractors
and laborers must show photo identification and provide an
address and phone number. Garcia says that this policy, along
with cooperation from local law enforcement, has resulted in a
large drop-off in cases where laborers work but then aren't
paid — a common complaint among day laborers. Employers
are responsible for screening for documentation, and agree to
hire a worker for at least four hours and to pay a minimum of
$10 an hour.

In addition to serving as a place for workers and employers to
connect, the center sponsors classes in literacy, English,
personal finance, and citizenship. It holds a bilingual summer
camp and an annual health and job fair. Neighborhood reaction
has been positive, Garcia reports: "People call us and say the
center is such a good thing. They are glad about it."
— Laurie Elden

Offcuts

Homeowners should not have been granted
class-action status in a construction-defect claim

,
ruled the Nevada Supreme Court in December. Craig Ranch Village
homeowners had argued that all of their houses' foundations and
slabs were damaged by the same cause — expansive soils
— and therefore should be considered as a single case.
However, a number of houses in the Beazer Homes development had
no damage, due to differences in grading, landscaping,
drainage, lot slopes, and retaining walls. Also, the homeowners
alleged more than 30 additional defects that weren't caused by
expansive soils. Justice Jim Hardesty wrote, "Because
single-family-residence constructional-defect litigation often
raises diverse, individualized claims and defenses, we conclude
that, generally, the requirements for class-action
certification cannot be met." The homeowners may now either
settle with Beazer or pursue individual claims in district
court.

Louisiana adopted a statewide uniform
building code on November 29.

The International Building
Code, International Residential Code, Existing Building Code,
Mechanical Code, and Fuel Gas Code will apply to coastal
parishes this year and to all construction in the state
beginning in 2007. Coastal parishes that already enforce a
building code were required to comply with the wind and flood
provisions of the IBC and IRC as of December 29. Coastal
jurisdictions that don't currently enforce a code have until
February 27 of this year for implementation. The legislation
also created a state code council with 19 members to be
appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state
senate.

DeKalb, Ill., city council members voted
on November 14 to more than triple impact fees

on new
development to pay for schools. One council member, Donna
Gorski, said that such a drastic increase was necessary because
the previous fees "were pathetically low," reports The Northern
Star, a local newspaper. The fees will jump from $4,800 on a
four-bedroom home to $18,330. The only member of the council to
vote against the measure expressed a reservation "that an owner
of a $200,000 home would pay the same as the owner of a
$450,000 home."

Speak of load paths, and your average inland builder
imagines gravity loads working their way down from roof to
foundation. Builders who work near the coast or in tornado
zones know better — or should. High winds turn the
typical load path on its head, pulling upwards and sideways
with unimaginable force.

Last August, Hurricane Katrina swept ashore in Louisiana and
Mississippi with sustained 120-mph winds. With much of New
Orleans under water and storm surges reaching far inland, most
news reports focused on the flooding. But after the waters had
receded, two teams of researchers — one affiliated with
the National Science Foundation and the other with the
Institute for Business and Home Safety — explored the
storm path, looking specifically at damage to wood-frame
buildings caused by high winds.

Gable roofs (A,B) typically sustain
greater damage from high winds than hip roofs (C). Note the
intact hip roof (D) in a neighborhood where gabled homes are
stripped of siding and have lost sheathing.

The damage they found was similar to that seen in earlier
hurricanes. Exposed gable ends fared poorly compared with hip
roofs (see above). Roof edges typically experienced greater
damage than the field of the roof, suggesting that perimeter
sheathing should be nailed more closely and shingles should be
both nailed and glued down in vulnerable areas (photos
below).

Wind forces are greatest at roof edges
(top and bottom). Perimeter sheathing should be nailed at a
closer spacing in high-wind regions.

On this home (left), the roof over the
carport was framed as a continuation of the main roof, but the
posts supporting it were not anchored. When the wind lifted the
carport, the roof of the house was also breached. Nearby, a
properly anchored porch post (right) held fast, losing only
some of its vinyl trim.

While structural sheathings generally
fared well, on this roof the OSB was poorly fastened with
staples 12 inches or more on-center and single staples
straddling the joints between panels.

The lack of hold-downs and metal connectors also contributed to
the destruction, as did shoddy nailing of roof sheathing
(photos below).

Many homes in the region were built with a mixture of sheathing
types — enough structural panels to meet code, infilled
with nonstructural panels, which cost less than plywood or OSB
(photos below). One of the most striking and repeated
observations in the reports is that nonstructural sheathings
— fiberboard or rigid foam — often blew right off,
leaving the house wide open to the rain. While the intact
structural panels — mostly OSB — may have protected
the frames from complete destruction, water damage from the
breaches was severe and costly.

A

B

C

D

While it is not uncommon for hurricanes
to pull off siding, what's underneath often determines the
extent of the building's damage. This building (A) lost its
brick veneer, which was inadequately tied to the foam sheathing
beneath. Once the siding was gone, the foam panels blew off,
exposing the interior. Note the intact OSB panels at the front
corner. In a similar case (B), plywood panels held while
fiberboard sheathing came loose. Though this home (C) next to
the Gulf was swept from its foundation, the frame was
remarkably preserved because of the plywood sheathing. A home
sheathed with OSB (D) fared well despite loss of its vinyl
siding. However, the omission of building paper beneath the
siding contributed to water intrusion; note the stains beneath
the gable window.

The researchers note that builders and code officials in the
Gulf area may be working under "conventional construction
provisions" when they should be applying high-wind details like
those found in the American Wood Council's Wood Frame
Construction Manual, 1995 SBC High-Wind Edition, or the
Southern Building Code Conference International's Standard
for Hurricane-Resistant Residential Construction.

The researchers also point out that newer homes seemed to fare
better than older ones, offering this as evidence that
post-Andrew code changes, as well as improved building
materials, may be having an effect. While the reports are not
conclusive, they offer good advice for anyone building where
wind is an issue: Install structural sheathing on the entire
frame, use a close nailing schedule on roof edges, and provide
a continuous load path from roof to foundation with metal
connectors and proper nailing.

The reports are available online at
www.engr.colostate.edu/~jwv and
www.apawood.org (type Katrina in the publications
search). — Don Jackson; thanks to John van de
Lindt of Colorado State University and Tom Skaggs and Bryan
Readling of the APA/Engineered Wood Association for
photos.

Resources: Roofing-Tile
Installation Manual

Following the 2004 quartet of hurricanes in Florida, the
Tile Roofing Institute (TRI) and the Florida Roofing, Sheet
Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors Association (FRSA)
studied the pattern of damage to tile roofs throughout the
state. The two trade organizations found that code changes made
after Hurricane Andrew did in general improve the performance
of tile roofs.

However, one ineffective form of attachment — floating
hip and ridge tiles on just a small bead of mortar along the
edges — is still common, says TRI technical director Rick
Olson. TRI and FRSA's new instructions — which were
adopted in November 2005 as code in Florida — direct
roofers to fasten hip and ridge tiles to a metal or wood nailer
board when using a mechanical or adhesive fastening system;
roofers who use mortar for structural attachment should use
prebagged mortar rather than mixing it on site.

The 30-page "Instructions for Hip and Ridge Attachment" is
available separately or as part of the fourth edition of the
TRI/FRSA Concrete and Clay Roof Tile Installation Manual for
Florida. Either version can be downloaded free from
www.tileroofing.org. The installation
manual can also be ordered from FRSA (407/671-3772, ext. 155)
for $40 plus shipping and handling.

Circ Saw Recall

Porter-Cable recalled 196,000 MAG-Saw circular saws (see
chart, far right) in November because the lower guard can get
stuck in the open position, posing a hazard. A "T" marked on
the label indicates that the company has determined the saw is
fully functional and thus not subject to the recall. For a free
inspection and repair, call Porter-Cable at 800/949-7930 or
visit www.porter-cable.com.